John Douglas, Temple's opera director, dies at 54

HOW MANY times have you heard someone say, "Hey, let's go up to Temple University and catch an opera?"

Rarely. Probably never.

Yet, Temple has been producing award-winning operas performed by students for years, gaining national recognition but with little fanfare and not much attention at home.

Most aficionados think of opera only in the terms of professional productions by such local companies as the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Academy of Vocal Arts and Curtis Institute, and the Met in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington.

As Tom DiNardo, Daily News classical music writer, wrote in April: "That's their loss."

"The Temple University Opera Theater has been consistently presenting two superb shows each season," DiNardo wrote.

The man behind these award-winning productions, John Douglas - music director and conductor for the last 20 years - died Monday after a long battle with cancer. He was 54 and lived in Elkins Park.

Douglas also lent his expertise to other opera companies and was an acclaimed teacher as well as a highly regarded pianist.

He directed the young artists program at Lake George Opera at Saratoga, N.Y., every summer since 2003.

In fact, he was to direct the company's production of "Viva la Mamma," which opened Friday at the Spa Little Theater, in Saratoga Springs.

He worked on the production until a few days before he had to return to Philadelphia because of failing health.

Curtis Tucker, artistic director of Lake George Opera, replaced Douglas as conductor.

"It's all been shockingly fast," Tucker said. "It's certainly a huge loss for us. John's hand has been in a lot of aspects of our productions for a good many years.

"His reach into our field has been tremendous. He's influenced an awful lot of people, especially in the development of up-and-coming singers and pianists."

Douglas was an associate professor in Temple's Department of Voice and Opera, music director of Temple University Opera Theater and a faculty member of the Boyer College of Music and Dance.

"John's dedication to teaching generations of opera students and his unparalleled enthusiasm for excellence will be missed by his many colleagues, current and former students," said Robert T. Stroker, dean of the Boyer College.

"He was the backbone of our opera productions and worked tirelessly not only as an ambassador of the program, but on behalf of the Boyer College and Temple University."

Since 1989, Douglas directed 50 productions at Temple and took the opera program to national prominence. It garnered four prestigious National Opera Awards. In 2006, he received the Temple University Faculty Award for Creative Achievement.

He told DiNardo in April: "We treat our productions in the same conceptual way that are done in a professional company, with no less time, interest or detail."

Opera students also gain experience building sets and costumes.

In his interview with DiNardo, Douglas pointed out that Temple productions of "Falstaff" and "La Boheme" won awards for the best college productions.

"It's good for these students to feel appreciated," he said. "And we have found that once a patron sees one of our productions, they'll make the effort to return."

As a pianist, he performed with many prominent opera singers around the country.

"Although I enjoy my professional work, I think my creativity is more stimulated by my work at Temple," he once said. "I get a special pleasure from finding unique solutions to the types of challenges our young singers present, and being a part of their early successes, successes I know they will remember the rest of their lives."

He is survived by his wife, Melissa; a daughter, Willa Rose; a son, Matthew; his parents, Marilyn and John Douglas, and a sister, Sara Douglas.

Services: 5 p.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Church of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive.